What's Happening

May 21, 2025, Detroit – The site where children once attended St. Matthew School in Detroit will now be home to another group of children and their families. 

Representatives of the City of Detroit, the Archdiocese of Detroit, Catholic Charities leaders, and civic leaders attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Residences at St. Matthew in early May. 

“It was a great gathering, manifesting the importance of people and organizations working together,” said Sister Nancyann Turner, OP. She ministered for more than 20 years at the Rosa Parks Children’s and Youth Program at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit.

“I was able to watch this project, along with projects in [four other cities] develop from ground-breaking to opening and move-in,” said Sister Donna Markham, OP, former President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA). “It was a thrilling experience to see moms and children literally moving from the streets, or from living in their cars, into beautiful, fully-equipped, safe apartments. It was a great day in Detroit!”

Construction began in November 2023 for the apartment complex, slated to include at least 46 apartments, including 36 one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom apartments, and six studio units. Healthcare and other services will be provided to the residents through Catholic Charities of Southeastern Michigan, Henry Ford St. John Hospital, and other partners.

To qualify, households had to earn no more than 30 percent, 50 percent, or 60 percent of the median income for the Detroit area. 

Sister Donna noted that the project took shape with the assistance of Archbishop Allen Vigneron and his team, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, and Ascension Health. “St. Matthew’s parishioners and the pastor, Rev. Duane Novelly, were key to the success of the project,” she said. “Generously, the Capuchin Friars fully furnished and equipped over 20 apartments, down to the fully stocked kitchens and bedding.”

Seven years ago, CCUSA began the pilot of the Healthy Housing Initiative with five dioceses across the country. Detroit was one of the cities that Sister Donna and her team chose, along with Las Vegas; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis; and Spokane.

“Many groups and individuals worked together to make this happen,” Sister Nancyann said. “It took tremendous work and cooperation among the many participants in this endeavor – including national and local Catholic Charities agencies, Mayor Michael Duggan and his many Detroit offices of housing, Henry Ford Medical Services, the Archdiocese of Detroit, construction companies, finance companies, and of course the people and pastor of St. Matthew’s Parish.”

Sister Donna noted that three requirements for participation in the CCUSA pilot program were “a bishop who was willing to make available underutilized church property, a Catholic Charities agency with a director who could lead housing development, and a Catholic health system that would assist with medical support services.”

The Healthy Housing Initiative “was one of the many beautiful things I was involved in during my nine-year tenure as president of CCUSA,” Sister Donna said. She encouraged anybody who has the opportunity to stop by and see Residences at St. Matthew. “It is well worth witnessing this little miracle in Detroit,” she said.

Read more about Residences at St. Matthew in this Detroit Catholic article by Daniel Meloy.
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Donna Markham, OP, back left, watches as, from left, Paul Propson, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan; Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda; and Msgr. Charles Kosanke, Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan cut the ribbon for the new Residences at St. Matthew. 
Photo by Valaurian Waller, Courtesy of The Detroit Catholic